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Directus

✓ Verified FOSSBSL-1.1
Top open-source alternative to Firebase

The flexible backend for all your projects 🐰 Turn your DB into a headless CMS, admin panels, or apps with a custom UI, instant APIs, auth & more.

Tech StackTypeScript, Node.js, Vue.js
Self-Host DifficultyEasy
License ModelBSL-1.1
GitHub Repositorydirectus/directus

Recommended VPS & Hardware Sizing

Estimated Hosting: $4 - $6/mo (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean)
Min RAM:1 GB
Rec RAM:2 GB
Compute:1 vCPU
Disk Space:10 GB SSD

Directus vs Firebase Comparison Matrix

Evaluation CriteriaDirectus (Open Source)Firebase (Proprietary)
Database Ownership100% Native standard PostgreSQL/MySQL tablesProprietary NoSQL format (Firestore)
INTERACTIVE TCO MODELEstimated Rate: $113/user/mo

Financial Impact: Migrating from Firebase to Self-Hosted Directus

Detailed Stack Calculator →
5 Users (Early Startup)50 Users (Scaleup)200 Users (Enterprise Org)
Firebase (Cloud SaaS)Per-Seat Tax
$33,900per year ($2,825/mo)
3-Year Spend:$101,700

* Excludes enterprise SSO add-ons & usage overages

Directus (Self-Hosted)Zero Per-Seat Fee
$120per year ($10/mo Linux VPS)
3-Year Compute:$360

* Commodity Hetzner / DigitalOcean compute instance

Cumulative 3-Year ROI+$101,340Net savings across 36 months (100% reduction)
Annual Free Cash:+$33,780/yr
Need C-Level Buy-In? Generate an instant ROI proposal memo to present to your CTO or CFO.

Core Capabilities & Features

✓Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs for all SQL tables
✓No-code relational data management studio for non-technical users

Self-Host Directus with Docker Compose

Tweak configuration ports, secrets, and volumes live. Download or copy your ready-to-run container file:

1-Click Docker Compose Generator

Generate production-ready container definitions with customizable ports and volumes.

DirectusBSL-1.1

The modern open data platform that instantly turns any SQL database into REST and GraphQL APIs

Difficulty: Easy38,433 ⭐
Configure Parameters
docker-compose.directus.yml
version: '3'

services:
  directus:
    image: directus/directus:latest
    ports:
      - "${SERVER_PORT:-8055}:8055"
    environment:
      KEY: ${SECRET_KEY:-random_key}
      SECRET: ${SECRET_HASH:-random_secret}
      ADMIN_EMAIL: ${ADMIN_EMAIL:[email protected]}
      ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${ADMIN_PASSWORD:-admin123}
      DB_CLIENT: 'pg'
      DB_HOST: 'database'
      DB_PORT: '5432'
      DB_DATABASE: 'directus'
      DB_USER: 'directus'
      DB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASS:-directus_pwd}
    depends_on:
      - database

  database:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: 'directus'
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASS:-directus_pwd}
      POSTGRES_DB: 'directus'
    volumes:
      - data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  data:

Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Hosting Directus

How do I self-host Directus using Docker Compose?

You can deploy Directus (directus/directus) on any Linux server by copying the docker-compose.yml template on this page, configuring your desired host port and persistent volume directory, and running 'docker compose up -d'.

How does Directus compare to Firebase?

Directus is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Firebase built with TypeScript, Node.js, Vue.js. Unlike Firebase ($25 - $200+ / project / month), Directus has zero per-user licensing fees and keeps 100% of your data on your own infrastructure.

What are the minimum VPS RAM and CPU requirements for Directus?

For production self-hosting (Easy difficulty tier), we recommend at least 2 GB RAM (minimum 1 GB), 1 vCPU, and 10 GB SSD storage, which typically costs $4 - $6/mo (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean).

Is Directus free for commercial business use under the BSL-1.1 license?

Yes. Distributed under the BSL-1.1 license, Directus can be self-hosted internally by businesses and engineering teams of any size without per-seat royalties.

README INTEGRATION // REPO EMBED

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SIMILAR REPOSITORIES // PEER COMPARISON

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